"Spring Pleasures"

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"Wings Of Glass"

I am a full time artist living in Orlando Fl, with my husband and our family of 2 Shih Tzus.
Nature Scapes in acrylic are among my favorite things to paint and this blog will show the progress of my works in their different stages. Many of my paintings are created using multiple canvases to create a sculptural affect. If you have any questions you would like me to answer about my work or techniques, please let me know and I will be happy to blog about it.
I am also a busy jewelry artist and will be posting photos of finished pieces of interest.
I'll also be including lots of garden photos and other inspirational pictures along the way.

Me & Chris

The 3 Shih Tzus

Chris & I at Celebrations Gallery, Pomfret CT

"Monarchy"

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"Dark Forest"

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Thursday, March 08, 2007

Fun Surfaces

This morning I received an order for a gourd birdhouse. I love painting those and well, it got me thinking why I love them and what other surfaces are very rewarding and fun for me and why..... The Pink Roses duck egg above, I painted for a gift exchange last year. I had a great time painting this one. One of the reasons that I like eggs so much is the curvy and well, sensual surface. It just feels so wonderful in the palm of my hand.

Eggs are also challenging to paint because especially with the smaller ones like the duck and turkey egg above, when you have an idea, it is sometimes hard to fit it all on the surface. I guess I also like them because I love the crafty part of it as well, making the hangers out of stones and beads, also gluing pretty stones on the egg itself, to add the finishing touches to the design. I've also always loved eggs and have a decorative egg collection in my china cabinet, which has overflowed to the glass display that makes up the bottom of my end table in my livingroom.

Every time I'm at a crafts fair, I tend to gravitate to the booths that are selling gourds. I guess I would say I love gourds for the same reason as eggs...their shape. These vessels are made by nature instead of man made so you never quite know with a gourd, what shape you are going to get. I think that is what makes them so much fun and so compelling to paint, different shaped gourds lend themselves to different designs.

Ok, then there is Yupo paper, a great alternative to traditional watercolor paper if you feel you can let loose, not be so serious and just have some fun for a change. Funny that it is called paper because there is nothing natural about the surface, it is a totally man made synthetic surface. You can do more serious paintings on Yupo, like my Red Calla Lilies above or do silly and fun paintings like my Springtime Birdie Doodle below. Either way, all the traditional rules of watercolor go out the window and you can just pretty much do anything you want. The result are paintings that have a crystal like shine to them, they are beautiful to look at on this unusual surface.

Well, Doodles, what can I say, I'm loving them. This is the name I've given to paintings I'm starting to do on Yupo paper, that are very playful and fun, nothing seious about them. I feel like a kid who has discoverd crayons for the first time when I work on one. They are a real form of therapy for me, perhaps a break from art that makes you take it and yourself way to seriously sometimes. The doodles get their image by first, completing a background I'm happy with, then removing areas of the paint, showing the white Yupo beneath, to reveal the design itself. I think the possibilities with these are endless and my mind is brimming with ideas for new doodles in all different sizes.

13 comments:

Wow, Ruth! Your works of art are so very inspiring! I've never painted on anything other than paper and canvas; only flat surfaces. I really think I might like to try that new paper, though. Your palette is beautiful, too! I always love paintings with bright, cheerful colors. Now those eggs... outstanding!!!

Hi Ruth, Louise of Beachy's CapeCod Cupboard left a little note in my blog this morning pointing me to yours. I'm so glad she did. What a gorgeous blog and incredible creations you have shared. Love the Doodles. I'm a digital scrapbook artist, so doodle some myself, just with pixels rather than paint. Drop by to see me when you can and I'll definitely return to see what beauties you'll be sharing next. xoxoxo

Your art is absolutly beautiful. While visiting Betty Jo at digiscribbles.blogspot.com/ I saw a link to your blog. I have book marked your blog so that I can come back and spend some time reading your posts. Have a great weekend.

Thanks Louise, I love painting eggs, they are so wonderful to use as a surface. I bet you would love Yupo paper, give it a try, it's fun to paint on. You can purchase it on www.dickblick.com If you end up getting some, let me know how you make out with it.

Thanks Tracey. Give eggs a try. You can buy cleaned out eggs on- line in lots of different places. I bought quite a few off of ebay. I've never messed around with blowing them out and cleaning them etc..I buy blanks that have already had all the work done by somebody else. Leaves me with the fun part which is painting them.